https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-129-The-Manifestation-of-the-Blaze-Release/12557955/
Chapter 130: The Looming Battle (4k)
Chapter 130: The Looming Battle (4k)
"Let's observe the nature transformation while in the Fire Style breathing state, and use a bit more chakra." Mu Yue suggested after a moment's thought.
Obito nodded and adjusted his breathing technique, entering the Fire Style breathing state. He inhaled a large amount of oxygen, gathering a substantial amount of chakra in his throat before rapidly exhaling a massive burst of flames.
The sheer volume of flames escaped his control, wildly spreading in all directions. Mu Yue quickly intervened with a water-style jutsu to prevent the forest from catching fire.
Kakashi, ever the quiet observer, watched this unfold. Being intimately familiar with Obito, he could clearly sense the progress in his friend's chakra nature transformation.
Only such rapid progress could result in the uncontrollable flames. If not for Mu Yue's timely intervention, Obito might have ended up burning himself.
"Teacher Mu Yue, eating spicy food really does increase the speed of cultivation!" Despite being soaked by the water jutsu, Obito remained excited.
He attributed this sudden progress to the spicy meal prepared by Mu Yue.
After all, in his opinion, yesterday had been an ordinary day, aside from the delicious meal, nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.
"What did you do after you finished training yesterday?" Mu Yue inquired.
She didn't believe that the food was solely responsible for this drastic improvement. If the cuisine could accelerate proficiency to this extent, it should have had an immediate effect yesterday. It didn't make sense for the effects to manifest only after Obito returned home, as the meal's illusion didn't have any lingering effects or delayed reactions.
"I didn't do much. I just went home as usual and practiced for a while before making this progress," Obito replied thoughtfully.
"Tell me more about it," Mu Yue said.
"On my way home yesterday, Lin encouraged me, and then we made a plan..."
"You can skip that part."
"...after parting ways with Lin, I came across an elderly lady who had fallen. I carried her to the hospital for treatment..." Obito recounted various little incidents on his way home, most of which involved helping elderly folks or being on his way to assist them.
"When I got home, I practiced the breathing technique for a while, and suddenly my body felt a bit warm, and then it became like this." Obito explained.
"I see," Mu Yue said, now understanding the reason behind Obito's rapid progress. "It seems that your actions and mindset, Obito, have resonated with the very essence of the Fire Style breathing."
Obito's personality perfectly aligned with the demands of the Fire Style breathing—his enthusiasm and cheerfulness drove him to proactively help those in need, and his heart burned with a passion as fiery as the flames themselves.
"Kakashi, you should eat more spicy food too. I'm sure your breathing technique will improve just as quickly as mine," Obito shared his newfound insight with Kakashi.
"Is it really because of the spicy food?" Kakashi had his doubts.
It wasn't that he suspected Obito of lying—he knew his friend wouldn't deceive him about something so important. However, after listening to their conversation, Kakashi felt that the real reason for Obito's progress might not be solely attributed to the spicy meal.
"Enough chatting, let's eat," Mu Yue interrupted, handing their lunch boxes to the two.
While eating spicy food might not guarantee rapid progress, it certainly couldn't hurt and would likely provide some benefit.
Kakashi opened his lunch box and found several neatly arranged large chili peppers inside. He fell into deep thought—was he supposed to eat the chilies directly?
"There's meat inside the chilies," Mu Yue clarified, noticing Kakashi's hesitation.
Kakashi took a bite and discovered that the chilies indeed encased meat. However, to his surprise, the meat was seasoned with chili flakes, making it even spicier than just eating the chilies themselves. Nonetheless, the flavor was exceptional.
After delivering lunches to Obito and Kakashi, Mu Yue went to deliver Might Guy's meal—a hearty stew of potatoes and beef.
She assessed Guy's progress and found that his proficiency had increased slightly, reaching twenty points.
"It seems it's not that he's stuck, but simply that the technique is incredibly challenging, so his progress is slower," Mu Yue mused to herself.
Based on the current rate of improvement, Mu Yue felt relieved that she didn't need to worry about Obito's training mission.
Unless Guy experienced another sudden insight leading to a proficiency surge, Obito's breathing technique proficiency would undoubtedly be significantly higher than Guy's by the end of the month, giving him a solid advantage in raw power.
In the afternoon, as the training session concluded, Mu Yue instructed Kakashi and Obito to head back together.
Kakashi's proficiency in the Fire Style breathing had steadily increased from fifteen to sixteen that day, a stable improvement.
However, Mu Yue hoped that Kakashi could learn from Obito and make equally rapid progress. Even if he didn't, she knew that Kakashi's conscientious nature would drive him to diligently continue his training.
"While you are overall excellent, there are still things you can learn from Obito," Mu Yue said to Kakashi.
She wished for Kakashi to become more outgoing and optimistic.
In the original story, Kakashi's role was minimal, mostly confined to flashbacks. Mu Yue felt that it took someone extraordinary to carry out the act of sacrificing themselves to open their friend's eyes, and she didn't think that person was an ordinary individual.
And so, Zhi Shui embarked on his journey of observation.
"Lin, has my shadow clone done anything strange at the Ninja Academy?" Tobirama asked.
"Nope, it's just the usual you," Nohara Lin replied with a smile.
"That's good. I was worried it might be doing something to tarnish my reputation at the Academy."
Zhi Shui watched this exchange, making a mental note that Tobirama seemed to enjoy chatting with Lin.
No one knew better than Tobirama himself whether his shadow clone had been acting strangely, yet he still asked the question. It was clear that Tobirama simply wanted an excuse to talk to Lin.
However, today they didn't encounter any elders in need of assistance, and the two of them made it home without incident.
The next day, Zhi Shui and Tobirama set out together to train in the Southern Forest.
On their way to breakfast, Tobirama helped an elderly grandmother, and Zhi Shui noticed the smile on his face afterward.
Once they reached the Southern Forest, Zhi Shui stopped paying attention to Tobirama and focused on his own training.
In the afternoon, as they made their way back, Zhi Shui resumed his observation.
However, today's journey was a little more eventful than the previous day's. They encountered an old man carrying a large sack on his way to visit his relatives in Konoha.
The old man was from a village near Konoha, and his daughter had married into a family in the village. With the recent bountiful harvest, he wanted to share the fruits of his labor with his daughter's family.
The sack the old man carried wasn't particularly heavy, at least not for trained ninja like them who possessed chakra.
However, after accompanying the old man to his destination, they discovered that his daughter's family had moved. Determined not to waste the old man's kindness, Tobirama went from door to door, inquiring about his daughter's new address. By the time they finally located her, the sky had already darkened.
Zhi Shui now understood why Tobirama's arrival at the Southern Forest was often unpredictable. If they kept running into situations like this, it would indeed be challenging to arrive on time.
"Thank you so much! These aren't really valuable, but please take some as a token of my gratitude," the old man said gratefully, offering the contents of his sack to Tobirama and Zhi Shui.
"No need, old man. Even without us, you would have found them eventually," Tobirama replied with a hearty smile, declining the offer.
After refusing the reward, Tobirama and Zhi Shui parted ways and returned to the Uchiha clan's settlement.
Lying in bed, Zhi Shui recalled the memories of Tobirama from the past two days.
After observing Tobirama closely, Zhi Shui truly believed that he was a unique Uchiha, unlike any other he had ever met. In fact, he seemed so different that he barely resembled a typical Uchiha.
Most of the time, Tobirama came across as rather careless and clumsy for his age. Despite being considered excellent among his peers, he often stumbled or bumped into things while walking.
Additionally, Tobirama rarely tried to control his emotions, wearing his heart on his sleeve for all to see.
However, when it came to noticing those in need of help, Tobirama's observational skills were exceptional, surpassing even Zhi Shui's.
After three days of observation, Zhi Shui sought out Mu Yue.
"Teacher, if Tobirama's progress in the breathing technique is due to his passionate willingness to help others, then I'm afraid I can't emulate him," Zhi Shui admitted honestly. "I don't have the same sincere desire to seek out and help strangers as he does."
Zhi Shui didn't reject the idea of helping others, but he knew he couldn't match Tobirama's level of selflessness.
Hearing Zhi Shui's words, Mu Yue smiled. He ruffled Zhi Shui's hair affectionately and said, "You can learn from Tobirama without imitating him. Perhaps you have a kinder heart than you give yourself credit for."
While Mu Yue wasn't aware of the specific actions taken by Zhi Shui and Tobirama, he could see that Zhi Shui's progress in the Fire Style breathing technique, though slower than Tobirama's, was still impressive.
...
On Monday at noon, Mu Yue once again received news that a Jonin-level meeting was being held.
Since it was taking place at the Ninja Academy, Mu Yue decided to attend this one alone.
Minato and Kushina arrived slightly earlier than Mu Yue, and they were already standing inside the meeting room when he entered.
Mu Yue approached and greeted them.
"It's been only a few days, and they're holding another meeting," Kushina remarked, exasperated.
Mu Yue smiled but refrained from joining in on the criticism. They were in a room full of people, and some things were best left unsaid. Unlike Kushina, who had a unique status, Mu Yue knew that his words carried more weight and that he had to be careful. A simple criticism of the frequent meetings or even a casual complaint could have unintended consequences.
Having introduced himself to some of the Jonin-level ninja during the previous meeting, Mu Yue used this opportunity to further build rapport, engaging in light conversation without delving too deeply into any particular topic.
"The Cloud Village? Aren't they currently invading the Wind Country and engaged in war with the Sand Hidden Village?" One of the Jonin present exclaimed in surprise.
Although the Third Kazekage of the Sand Village had disappeared, they still possessed the foundation of being one of the Great Shinobi Villages, and it was unlikely that the Cloud Village could defeat them in a short period.
At this juncture, the Cloud Village declaring war on Konoha could only mean one thing—they intended to fight on two fronts, simultaneously attacking Konoha and the Sand Village.
"Damn those Cloud barbarians! They're truly despicable!" Kushina exclaimed without holding back.
Hearing this news, Mu Yue remained unfazed. After all, Konoha was soon to be surrounded by the four Great Shinobi Villages, and a declaration of war was merely a formality, as the fighting hadn't even officially begun yet.
Mu Yue could somewhat guess the Cloud ninja's line of thinking.
Before the disappearance of the Third Kazekage, there had already been significant friction between the Cloud and Konoha, indicating that the Cloud Village harbored ambitions towards Konoha.
However, due to the significant incident involving the Sand Village, which had resulted in the disappearance of their Kazekage, the Cloud Village chose to strike first at the Sand Village, which was now leaderless.
If the Rock Village hadn't declared war on Konoha, Mu Yue estimated that the Cloud Village wouldn't have dared to declare war on Konoha unless they had gained a significant advantage over the Sand Village.
But with the Rock Village's declaration of war, things were different. Even though the Cloud Village was fighting on two fronts, Konoha, which had to deal with the Rock Village, would also have to fight on two fronts.
Would the Third Raikage think that Konoha would fare better than the Cloud Village in the same situation? Of course not. If that were the case, the Cloud Village wouldn't be so bold in the ninja world.
Mu Yue surmised that the Third Raikage's plan was to wear down Konoha while they were engaged with the Sand Village, then finish off the Sand Village, sweep through Konoha, and finally take down the Rock Village, which would be weakened from fighting Konoha, thus conquering the continent.
Mu Yue could only say that it was a good plan, but it overestimated their strength and underestimated both Konoha's power and the Rock Village's ambition.
From the subsequent events of the Third Shinobi World War, it was evident that the Third Raikage was highly ambitious. If not for his formidable might, a large number of Cloud ninja would have perished in the Rock Village's encirclement campaigns.
"We should immediately dispatch spies to disrupt their operations against the Sand Village," Danzo suggested.
As long as the Sand Village could tie down a significant number of Cloud ninja, Konoha wouldn't have to worry about the pressure of fighting on two fronts.
Shikaku Nara fell into deep thought. If the Cloud Village intended to invade Konoha, they would have an easier time compared to the Rock Village.
This was because the Cloud Village had two options for their invasion route: they could either enter from the northeastern Tang Country or directly from the north through the Field Country.
The Hidden Hot Springs Country had weak ninja forces, and the Field Country was even weaker, lacking a ninja village altogether.
This meant that Konoha had to be vigilant and fortify a large area along its borders with these countries.
"We need to prevent the Cloud Village from defeating the Sand Village while strengthening our border defenses," Shikaku stated.
This time, he agreed with Danzo's suggestion. They must not allow the Cloud Village to divert their full attention and forces towards Konoha.
Mu Yue could sense that the atmosphere of this meeting was heavier than the previous one, with many of the Jonin present wearing grave expressions.
"The Sand Village and the Cloud Village have already engaged in battle, and the Rock Village will soon be at war with us as well. It seems the Third Shinobi World War is about to break out," Shikaku said worriedly after the meeting had concluded.
Shikaku had extensive experience on missions, but he had never experienced a Shinobi World War. The Second Shinobi World War had ended when he was still a student at the Ninja Academy.
However, just by looking at the recorded documents, he could sense the brutality of the Shinobi World War—a large number of fallen ninja, and even a Kage of a village could perish in the conflict.
Kushina's unique status meant that she would inevitably be drawn into the battlefield if the war escalated. Shikaku's concern stemmed from this knowledge.
"Those Cloud barbarians truly desire chaos!" Kushina's expression turned grim as well.
However, Kushina wasn't worried about herself being sent to the battlefield. Instead, she thought of her homeland, which had been destroyed by war.
Kushina despised war. She had witnessed firsthand how her country and village had perished in the turmoil of war, and those memories remained vivid even to this day.
"Obito's training mission, student exam rewards, Class 1-1's improvement rewards..." Mu Yue silently thought about the rewards that were within his reach.
With war looming, his current strength was insufficient to ensure his safety in such a turbulent environment.
(End of Chapter)
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